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Dog Days series
Dog Days series — by John Levitt Genres and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy Series Description or Overview In Dog Days, Mason solves a case involving missing Ifrits and a power-hungry practitioner who wants to control the magical world. In New Tricks, Mason tries to help some homeless men but winds up opening an energy pool (similar to a portal) that allows some supernatural monsters into the mortal world of San Francisco. In Unleashed, Mason and his friends continue to hunt down the monsters who came through the energy pool, including some vicious shape shifters. In Play Dead, a black (as in black magic) practitioner hires Mason to find another black practitioner and retrieve some stolen materials. None of these adventures is as simple as it first seems, and in each case, Mason is constantly under attack—both magically and physically—and must use his improvisational magical talents to keep himself alive, with a lot of help from Lou. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction Lead's Species * Magic practitioner Primary Supe * Magic practitioners What Sets it Apart * Magic Dog companion, an Ifrit. Narrative Type and Narrators * First person narrative from Mason’s point of view Books in Series Dog Days series: # Dog Days (2007) # New Tricks (2008) # Unleashed (2009) # Play Dead (2011) Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides none yet Themes, Motifs, Symbolism World Building Setting San Francisco Places: * Portland * Land's End * Baker Beach * Dogpatch * Mount Davidson * Valencia Supernatural Elements ✥ Magic practitioners, mages, monsters, monster hunter, , Shape-adapter, portal, Windengo, , , , psychic, energy pool that's spitting out monsters, Ifrit, ✥ Magic Skills/Types: empathy, intuition, Black arts, , , Glossary: * Ifrit: small magical animal that chooses a person with magical powers to live with and protect—similar to a witch’s familiar. (common definition) 'Groups & Organizations': * World Set in San Francisco, this series deals with magic practitioners and the various supernatural creatures with whom they interact. Along with Victor and Eli (Mason’s mentor), Mason gets involved in a series of adventures involving practitioners who use magic for harmful reasons. Eli is more of a philosopher than a practitioner—like an expert football coach who is better at teaching the sport than playing it. Victor is Eli's star quarterback—an excellent practitioner in every way (and with an over-the-top ego to match his big skills). Mason is like an on-the-bench specialist. If he worked a bit harder, he could be as good as Victor, but as it is, Eli and Victor call on him when they have a job that calls for his almost unbeatable improvisational skills. In this world, an Ifrit is a small magical animal that chooses a person with magical powers to live with and protect—similar to a witch’s familiar. (This is not the common definition of an Ifrit.) Lou serves many functions in Mason’s life: defender, finder of lost people and objects, and icebreaker (he’s so cute that people can’t resist him). Lou and other Ifrits play major roles throughout the series. Mason has a few love interests but nothing permanent. The most long-lasting of the ex-girlfriends are Jordan, a fellow practitioner, and Campbell, a healing witch.~ Fang-tastic Fiction Protagonist ✥ The hero,, is a practitioner with powers that would be stronger if he put forth some effort and did some practicing. Mason does occasional enforcement work for Victor, the chief magical enforcer for the Bay Area, but his real love is music. Mason’s constant companion is Lou, who appears to be a dog (a miniature Doberman), but is really an Ifrit. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction Book Cover Blurbs ✤ BOOK ONE—Dog Days (2007): First in a new urban fantasy series-with a bite as magical as its bark. Mason used to be an enforcer, ensuring that suspect magic practitioners stayed in line. But now he scrapes out a living playing guitar. Good thing he has Louie, his magical...well, let's call him a dog. But there are some kinds of evil that even Louie can't sniff out. And when Mason is attacked by a supernatural assailant, he'll have to fall back on the one skill he's mastered in music and magic-improvisation. ~ Goodreads | Dog Days (Dog Days, #1) by John Levitt ✤ BOOK TWO—New Tricks (2008): Former enforcer Mason would normally be concerned with finding ghosts and vampires stalking the Castro section of San Francisco. Fortunately, Halloween provides the perfect explanation for the abundance of ghouls. But someone is trying to possess his old flame, Sarah. Now, with the help of his magical dog Louie, Mason must uncover the black magician responsible. ~ Goodreads | New Tricks (Dog Days, #2) by John Levitt ✤ BOOK THREE—Unleashed (2009): Mason is an enforcer, keeping magical practitioners on the straight and narrow. His "dog" Louie, is a faithful familiar who's proven over and over that he's a practitioner?s best friend. But this time, Louie's in the line of fire when practitioners in San Francisco accidentally unleash a monster into the world. ~ Goodreads | Unleashed (Dog Days, #3) by John Levitt ✤ BOOK FOUR—Play Dead (2011): Mason used to be an enforcer, ensuring that those magic practitioners without a moral compass walked the straight and narrow. But now he just wants to keep his head down, play guitar, and maintain a low profile with Lou, his magical canine companion. But Mason is down on his luck, and when a job with a large payout comes along, he finds the offer hard to resist-not knowing it might mean sacrificing what both man and his best friend hold most dear. ~ Goodreads | Play Dead (Dog Days, #4) by John Levitt Category:Series